


Ice cream and Waffles

by Simply_A_Cherry_Bomb



Series: what can I say? Loves difficult [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Donghyuck realises things, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mark is whipped, nomin are still horrible, sequel to close your phone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2020-10-04 17:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20474921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simply_A_Cherry_Bomb/pseuds/Simply_A_Cherry_Bomb
Summary: Mark knows he should've spoken to Donghyuck earlier. He watches as Jeno and Jaemin get closer and wonders how Donghyuck still hasn't realised his boyfriend was cheating on him.But then again, Donghyuck was always naive, trusting, easily fooled. Mark had to help him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you haven't read the first book  
please do that first sjskks

Donghyuck shivered as the cold water from the rain travelled down his back. He wasn't an idiot, so he obviously wasn't going to be standing under the rain, waiting for his boyfriend, who apparently forgot the fact that he has someone waiting for him at a park. Donghyuck quickly walked through the streets, annoyed and feeling betrayed. He left his house feely a little giddy, because after such a long time, it was going to be him and his boyfriend, happily hanging out and maybe even getting some food. But no. Here he was, freezing cold, soaking wet, and unable to calm his nerves.

"I'm going to actually beat the shit out of him." Donghyuck said, wiping away the rain droplets, that was mixed with his tears, from his cheeks in anger. He trusted Jeno to make him feel better. He had lost someone in his life that he basically loved more than anyone. The person who raised him. The person who gently took his hand and taught him how to walk. The person who caressed his face softly, instead of shouting at him for being out too late. And Jeno had to go and make it all worse.

"Woah woah woah." Donghyuck stopped as he bumped into someone. He was blinded by anger, and had lowered his head to cover it with his hand in attempt to protect himself from the rain which he was failing to do. "Donghyuck?"

Donghyuck raised his head and stared at Mark with confusion. Mark saw his red eyes filled with tears and immediately cupped his face, wiping them quickly and asking him if he was alright. Donghyuck blinked slowly, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm himself again. Mark's words of worry only caused him to stress more. He thought about where Jeno could be, and an image of Jaemin flashed in his mind.

"Donghyuck!" Mark called out, snapping the younger out of his train of thoughts. "Are you okay? What were you doing here? Why are you crying? Do you wanna come over to my house?"

"Uh..." Donghyuck first thought about rejecting Mark's offer, as he thought that Jeno wouldn't have liked it. But then remembered how Jeno had stood him up, and the fear that he might've been with _him _was there as well. "Yeah...let's go to your house."

Mark immediately took Donghyuck by his hand and lead him through the streets quickly. The two were completely drenched by the time they reached Mark's house, but Mark quickly pushed Donghyuck into the shower and handed him some clothes. Donghyuck stared at the closed bathroom door and sighed. He hurried over to the shower, not wanting to take long and disturb Mark, and then pulled over the clothes he was given. They fit perfectly, as his size was the same as Mark's, and he then exited the bathroom.

Mark sat in front of the heater, drying himself up as he had also taken a shower in the guest room, and Donghyuck couldn't help but feel bad. He had been avoiding Mark for a while now, mostly because of the way Jeno glared at the two whenever they sat too close, and because of the warm feeling he got in his heart. The same feeling he got whenever he was with Jeno.

"Donghyuck." Mark said softly, patting the floor besides him, and then gesturing for him to come and join him. "So tell me, why were you in that state just a while ago?"

Donghyuck bit his lip and shuffled forwards to receive more heat from the heater. He wanted to tell Mark it was because Jeno had stood him up, and not even bothered to tell him that he was unable to come. But felt embarrassed. Embarrassed because he was foolish enough to leave his house, and all of his worries behind, and rush over to the park just to meet someone who doesn't even care.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Donghyuck replied, dipping his head down to dry his hair. Mark frowned at the pained expression Donghyuck had on his face, and then glanced at his phone. He was out trying to buy some food when he found Donghyuck on the street, so he couldn't get any.

"Want some pizza?" Mark offered, picking his phone up and scrolling through different pizza takeout websites. Donghyuck glanced up and then down at his fingers. He was hungry (since he didn't eat anything in the morning, hoping to catch some breakfast with Jeno), but he didn't want to be any more of a burden on Mark.

"It's okay." Donghyuck replied, avoiding Mark's questioning look when his stomach growled. "I don't wanna be a burden."

"You would never be a burden." Mark shook his head and then dialed up the pizza shop, putting the phone to his ear and getting up. Donghyuck watched as Mark smiled whilst talking to the person behind the phone. He was always in such a happy mood and trying to make others happy. That was one of the things Donghyuck liked of Mark. Always cheerful. "Alright, the pizzas are coming in 20 minutes, let's get comfortable."

Before Donghyuck could argue, Mark rushed out of the room in search for some blankets. As soon as he left, Donghyuck's phone lit up and a notification from Jeno popped up. With the anger and annoyance present in him from an hour ago building up again, Donghyuck reached over for his phone and checked what Jeno had to say.

**Jeno ♡**  
Im so sorry Hyuck but something really big came up. I'll explain to you later but I can't come. I'm so sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you later 💞

Donghyuck scoffed at the shitty attempt of an excuse and then threw his phone onto Mark's sofa. Just as Donghyuck turned back to close the heater, Mark entered the room again, this time with blankets thrown over his body, making him look smaller than he actually is. Donghyuck looked up at him and then burst into laughter, covering his mouth as he watched Mark struggle with the amount of layers over him.

"Come on! Help me!" Mark whined, wiggling his body and trying to get the blanket off of himself. Donghyuck stood up and then pulled them off one by one. Mark stayed still and then glanced at the blankets, before gesturing for Donghyuck to climb onto the sofa.

"So, let's watch a movie." Donghyuck suggested, ignoring the way his heartbeat fastened as Mark dropped down besides him and snuggled closer, but making sure that there was a decent amount of space between them.

"What do you wanna watch?"

After a good couple of minutes of arguing over which movie to watch, the door bell rung and Mark hurried to get the pizzas. Once he paid, and flashed his sweet smile at the delivery girl, Mark returned to the sofa and opened up the boxes, holding it up towards Donghyuck, who happily took a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Are you feeling better now?" Mark asked, and then immediately panicked when he saw Donghyuck freeze. "I mean- ah shit- I'm sorry for bringing it up again-"

"It's okay Mark." Donghyuck chuckled, patting his arm to stop him from apologising. "And yes, I feel a lot better."


	2. Chapter 2

Donghyuck lay on his bed, reading over the message Jeno had sent him yesterday and feeling worse every second he spent looking at it. Maybe Jeno didn't want to hang out with Donghyuck after all the sulking he had been doing. Maybe Jeno felt weird meeting Donghyuck after so long. Or maybe Jeno found someone else's presence more interesting than his.

The twist in Donghyuck's stomach got worse as he began to overthink things again. His mind wandered along different possibilities and things started to slowly make sense. Before Donghyuck could think more on the incident, and perhaps come to a conclusion, his phone rung and Mark's picture popped up.

"Hello?" Donghyuck said into the phone, confused as to why Mark would be calling at 12pm on a Saturday.

"Hey Donghyuck, wanna grab a coffee?" Mark asked after a few seconds, panting as if he was out of breath.

"Um." Donghyuck looked around his room, checking to see if he had any work to do, before turning his attention back to the phone and saying, "Yeah sure, where should we meet up?"

"I'm outside your house." Mark replied, and a knock on the door followed it straight afterwards. Donghyuck jumped up in surprise and ended the call, before rushing to clean his appearance up. He had spent a few hours crying before, so he hoped he didn't look too bad.

Donghyuck threw on a hoodie whilst stuffing his legs into some abandoned jeans in the corner of the room, and then flew down the stairs, thanking the fact that his parents were deep sleepers before opening the door.

"What took you so long?" Mark asked, as Donghyuck slipped his feet into some trainers and then shuffled out of the house with him.

"I needed to get ready." Donghyuck replied, patting his hair down, which was sticking out in places. "You know, to look good."

"You would look good in anything." Mark said, smiling at Donghyuck and then realised that his compliment sounded a lot more like something else and quickly stuttered in attempt to clear the air, "I mean! You know, because uh-"

"It's okay Mark." Donghyuck chuckled, holding his hand up to stop Mark from rambling on.

The two began to walk down the streets, and allowed silence to be filled between them. Mark could see that Donghyuck wasn't in the mood to talk, clearly shown by the way he has his head tilted in the opposite direction, and Donghyuck didn't want to disturb Mark with his complaints, thinking he had done enough yesterday. Only after a couple of minutes, Mark tapped Donghyuck's shoulder, causing him to turn around, and then pointed at the building next to them.

"We've arrived." He said, and then made his way towards the door. A bell-like sound echoed in the empty cafe, and the duo strolled in, scanning the area to find somewhere to sit. "You can sit there, I'll get us something to eat."

Choosing to leave the drinks and food on Mark, Donghyuck nodded absentmindedly and slowly walked over to where Mark had pointed at. He took a seat and let out a sigh. It had been a while since he had gotten our of his house, other than yesterday which had been a fail, so he hoped today went well. Honestly, Donghyuck trusted Mark to make his day better, and perhaps help him out of their strange feeling towards Jeno. He didn't know whether he was actually still attracted to Jeno like the first time they met.

Donghyuck did, however, get excited to meet Jeno, and the same butterfly feeling, people say you get when meeting up with a loved one, still fluttered through him, making him nervous every time they met up. And even once they were in front of each other, Donghyuck would be unable to hold back a smile, simply seeing Jeno made him happy, but at the same time, whenever he saw the elder, a twisting feeling caused him to feel sick.

It was weird, and Donghyuck absolutely hated it. He couldn't even go a few minutes with Jeno, before his happiness would get flattened down by his overthinking, or at least he thought he was overthinking the relationship Jeno had with Jaemin. It was obvious that they had become really good friends, shown by the way they would be attached by the hip at friendly gatherings, but Donghyuck still had a fear there was something else present, something a lot deeper.

He shouldn't be thinking like this, especially when it involves his best friend (the one person he trusts with pretty much everything) and his boyfriend (the person he claims to love with his entire heart).

"Sorry that took so long." Mark sighed, sliding into the seat in front of Donghyuck, surprising him as he was stuck in his thoughts. "What's up? You seem down?"

"It's nothing." Donghyuck smiled, glancing over at the waitress who was rushing around by the counter, trying to get their order ready as soon as she could. "Just thinking about how it's winter again."

"Oh, do you prefer winter or summer?" Mark cleared his throat, sitting up straight in his seat, causing a small smile to appear on the youngers face.

"I prefer summer, however I hate both of them." Donghyuck replied, bowing his head down as the waitress placed the cups of coffee down in front of them with pieces of cake, before turning back to Mark. "I like spring more, since that's when it starts getting warmer. Summer is too hot. Winter is too cold. And autumn is chilly."

"Hm, that makes sense." Mark nodded, closing his eyes and holding up a hand to his chin, only making the smile on Donghyuck's face to widen. Every thing he did was always so cute and unintentionally adorable, Donghyuck couldn't help but feel comfortable around him.

"Exams are coming up soon." Donghyuck groaned, somehow being hit by a reminder half way through his tiramisu cake, catching Mark off guard.

"I almost forgot about those." Mark scrunched his nose, taking a sip of his coffee, before looking up at Donghyuck. "You know, if you find anything hard, you can ask me for help. I'm not amazing at studies, but I am a good teacher, if I do say so myself."

"I don't know." Donghyuck teased, narrowing his eyes at Mark and taking a noisy sip of his drink, stifling a laugh when the latter huffed at the response."Alright, alright, I'll believe you. If I ever need help, I'll ask you."

"Thanks." Mark said, although it would've made sense for Donghyuck to say that. Outside the window, a few snowflakes fell from the sky, brushing down leaves, politely asking for shelter, then slid down after being rejected, and hit the floor, melting with sadness and creating small puddles. Donghyuck stared at them and bit his lip, his mood slowly dropping as he thought back to what had happened yesterday, chewing harder and harder on his skin. "Hey."

"Huh?" Donghyuck tore his eyes away from the miniature pile of snowflakes gathered on the floor outside, and face Mark, who only stared back with a hard expression.

"Stop thinking about yesterday." He said, almost as if he read Donghyuck's mind, which was impossible, but Donghyuck still suspected Mark, knowing that he was definitely not something normal, especially since he was able to lighten up his mood by simply saying four words.

"Okay okay." Donghyuck picked up his fork, piercing the cake into a small piece, before stabbing it and munching down. A question appeared in his mind, and without thinking, he asked Mark, "Where were your parents yesterday?"

"My parents?" Mark paused, holding his fork right next to his lips, before glancing at Donghyuck with surprise, "Have I not told you already? I don't have any parents."

Donghyuck's mouth parted, and he watched Mark casually eat his cake and then sip his coffee. An apology sat on the tip of his tongue, waiting to be said, but when he opened his mouth, Mark beat him to it.

"No need to apologise." Mark said, leaning back in his chair once he finished his food. "Anyways, we should get going before the snow settles."

Donghyuck nodded, taking the last bits of his food before gulping down his coffee, and although it was cold and thick now he still enjoyed it, before hurriedly scrambling alongside Mark, exiting the cafe and being greeted by a cold wind.

"Let me drop yo—" Mark started, turning to walk Donghyuck home, but he quickly interrupted him, shaking his head furiously and pushing lightly on his arm.

"It's getting really cold, you should get home, quickly." Donghyuck said, taking a step back from Mark and flashing him a smile. "Plus, you live in the opposite direction from me."

Mark stood still, his face clearly showing that he was debating in his mind about what to do, before finally giving in and waving at Donghyuck. They both turned around, embracing themselves before making their way home. A warm feeling flooding both of their hearts.


	3. Chapter 3

"No. Get out," Mark said, and he shook his head as Jeno continued to try and force his way into his house, a foot by the door frame and a head poked in. "You're an asshole, and I don't allow assholes to enter my house."

"Oh come on, Mark!" Jeno groaned, throwing his hands up as he spoke, but then immediately jerked forwards to stop the older from closing the door on his face, again. "I said I'm sorry!"

"Well say that to Donghyuck, the boy who waited in the rain for you, cried for you, and has been waiting for you to make it up to him." Mark scoffed as he let go of the door, because he knew Jeno was just going to annoy him until he gave up, and walked over to his kitchen, attempting to finish off the lunch he had started making before he was very rudely interrupted.

"I did," Jeno said and nodded his head, following after Mark once he neatly placed his shoes to the side. "I went to his house and asked him if he wanted to hang out with me."

Mark ignored what Jeno said and choose to focus on something more important. After the cafe d—hang out, Donghyuck had been avoiding Mark, and apparently Jeno. He couldn't help but wonder if it was because of the incident that took place a few days ago, or something else, since Mark was so sure he had managed to lighten the younger's mood up by then. It was confusing. Donghyuck was confusing. But then again no one was telling him what was going on either.

"Are you even listening to me?" Jeno grabbed Mark's wrist, spinning him around and glaring at him. But soon after, as Mark looked down at him with disgust, Jeno caved in, lowering his head in shame and feeling the guilt of the situation rush over him. "Listen, I know...I feel bad for what I've—"

"And Jaemin," Mark added, and Jeno tensed under his gaze.

"Yeah, and Jaemin," He nodded, and kept his head low. The look Mark had on his face was too much. They had been friends since they were very young, and so, seeing Mark so disappointed in him, feeling a high amount of resentfulness towards him, it was a little overwhelming. It had never been like this.

Mark would never get angry at Jeno, it was almost as if he couldn't. Even when Jeno got selected to be in the basketball team instead of Mark, or when Jeno started ignoring him because he had new friends, or even when Jeno made a move on the person Mark had been crushing on since they were younger. Mark never expressed his anger, or sadness, or betrayal. Instead, he would come to Jeno, tell him that being part of the team would be fun and that if he stresses too much he had Mark with him, remind him that he doesn't need to change himself to make others like him, and give Jeno tips on how to date Donghyuck.

And of course, Jeno felt bad. But clearly, not bad enough.

"If you don't tell Donghyuck that you're cheating on him," Mark started, and brought a hand up to Jeno's chest, applying enough pressure to push him back. "Then I will personally go to him," Mark pushed him again, "And tell him, that his shitty boyfriend has been cheating on him," he leaned forwards, face inches apart from Jeno and his hand quickly opening the door to his house, "With his pathetic excuse of a best friend."

With that, Mark gave Jeno one last push, feeling satisfied when he watched the younger's face morph from surprise to panic, and shut the door. Mark wanted to help Donghyuck, and tell him that he doesn't deserve someone like Jeno or Jaemin. That he deserves the best, especially since even after everything, he still trusts Jeno (though it's a pretty stupid thing to do).

Just as Mark was about to walk away from his door, he heard in a small voice,

"If you tell Donghyuck, then I'll tell everyone what you did to me when we were younger."

Mark froze, his breath hitched and his eyes widened. _Jeno wouldn't, he wouldn't, he wouldn't, he wou—_

"I swear I will, if you tell Donghyuck," Jeno's voice interrupted his inner thoughts, and Mark felt his heartbeat fasten. He hurriedly opened the door again before immediately grabbing Jeno's collar. He brought him close to him and stared at the younger's (relieved) eyes with anger.

"You're honestly the worst person I've met," Mark snarled, his voice getting louder every time he spoke. "You're more willing to ruin your best friends life rather than fix your own mess! Not only have you destroyed the relationship you had with Donghyuck, you've messed it up with Jaemin as well. How do you think Donghyuck's going to react when he finds out, huh? When he finds out that his best friend, the person he trusts the most, the person he's grown up with, and the person who he definitely loves more than you, has betrayed him? Has trampled over his trust as if it meant nothing? You're _disgusting_ Lee Jeno, you really are disgusting."

The sound of the door slamming shut echoed in Mark's empty apartment and he let out a sigh. He heard as Jeno hit the door one last time before heading off. Mark knows he should tell Donghyuck before it gets too late, before Donghyuck also loses trust in him, but he can't. He especially can't when Jeno just threatened to use his past against him. The childish, immature things he had once done to Jeno. The hurtful words, the rumours, the incident that involved Jeno's parents, everything. If Donghyuck was to find out about that, everything Mark had built up to that moment would be destroyed. His attempt to go back to normal, fix his ways, perhaps move on from his horrible memories.

Yet here Jeno was, ready to rub salt into his nearly healed wounds.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jeno let out a groan of frustration, hit a hand over his head and then glanced over his shoulder, his eyes trailing down the building and then back to his phone. The screen lit up and a name was displayed. Jeno's heart fluttered as he read it, and quickly answered the call.

"Hey baby, what's up?" Jeno asked, holding the phone to his ear and picking up his pace, eager to get home quickly.

"I'm bored!" The caller whined, and Jeno chuckled softly. "Why'd you leave me at your house alone? It took me an hour just to find where your snacks were."

"Sorry, sorry," Jeno replied, and at this point he was jogging back to his house. "I'll be there soon Jaeminie, just wait a little longer, okay?"

"Okay!"


	4. Chapter 4

Mark was a nice guy. Donghyuck knows that much at least. He was a cute guy, Donghyuck admits because he may be taken but he sure ain't blind. Mark was a nice, cute guy, something that was difficult to find nowadays. Jeno was a cool guy. Donghyuck knows that much at least. He was Donghyuck's boyfriend, and so Donghyuck had to admit he was a nice guy. 

Donghyuck had now known Jeno for over six months. He had learnt to trust Jeno in those six months and believed that the slightly older boy would never betray him — he never had a reason to. 

But as Donghyuck lay in bed, his phone clutched in his hand and he stared at the ceiling, Donghyuck questioned whether or not Jeno would betray him. Donghyuck wasn't new to unfaithfulness. He had seen it happen right before his eyes during his childhood and suffered the consequences as he grew up. And whenever Donghyuck would look at Jeno, all cuddled up beside Jaemin as if they were in love, it hurt him.

Surely Jeno wouldn't do the same thing his parents did, right?

"Of course not," Donghyuck rolled his eyes at his thought before turning around in his bed. His mind wandered away from Jeno and he landed at Mark. 

Mark and him had known each other for just over 4 months. Donghyuck trusted Mark with his entire heart. Mark wasn't just a pretty face, he was much more. He was a trustworthy person, he was comforting, he was a good listener and he just so selfless Donghyuck wondered what he did to deserve such a good friend.

"Friend..." Donghyuck muttered, pursing his lips as he thought more about Mark.

If Mark was his boyfriend, would he have sent his best friend to take Donghyuck to the hospital? Would he have left Donghyuck waiting in the park when it was raining? Would he have asked for forgiveness whilst using the most immature and incredibly unbelievable excuse? Donghyuck doesn't know. Mark wasn't his boyfriend, and he would never be his boyfriend.

"He's just your friend, Donghyuck," He scolded himself, bringing a hand to his cheek to slap himself lightly. "Nothing more than that. Remember about Jeno."

It was wrong, Donghyuck believed. The feelings he was beginning to harbour for Mark. It was wrong. Mark was Jeno's best friend. His best friend. And Donghyuck was Jeno's boyfriend. He refused to fall into the cliche of liking your boyfriend's best friend. First of all, it was wrong to do that, he couldn't just hurt Jeno because his feelings got the best of him. Second of all, there was no chance Mark would even like him back. The relationship they had seemed more friendly than romantic, and Donghyuck was alright with that. He had to be as that's as far as it could ever go.

"I'm too close with him," Donghyuck said out loud, realising that he spends more time with Mark than Jeno. That was not normal, right? You don't spend more time with your boyfriend's best friend. That's wrong. "I should distance myself from him."

With a new idea in his head, Donghyuck nodded. If avoiding Mark meant he could get his feelings in check, he would do just that. 

Jeno was important to him. Although they met at a party, one in which everyone was pretty drunk and out of their minds, Donghyuck was sure he liked Jeno. The way Jeno smiled at him, the way he spoke so gently, careful to not ruin the mood they had created and tried his best to make Donghyuck happy with every word he said. He was practically perfect. In Donghyuck's opinion, the timing was right.

It wasn't as if Donghyuck was going through some heartbreaking experience, it was just a bad phase in his life (or so he says because he just doesn't want to admit the fact that he was having a tough time). No one knew about it, not even Jaemin. But when Jeno entered his life, making him giggle with his actions and simply lit up his world, Donghyuck felt a lot nicer. It felt good to have someone like that. Change was a nice feeling. 

Donghyuck's phone rang and he got snapped out of his thoughts. He blinked a few times before realising that someone was calling him. With a grunt, Donghyuck accepted the call blindly and pressed his phone against his ear. 

"Hello?" He snapped, already not in the mood to converse with whoever this was. An awkward cough was heard from the call before a small mumble.

"Sorry for disturbing you," Mark started and Donghyuck immediately felt guilyt for being harsh toward Mark. "I just wanted to ask if you were busy or not? If you were willing to come out and get some lunch, you know? Catch up with each other?"

Donghyuck contemplated for a few moments. Mark was asking him out for a hangout. A friendly hangout, nothing more than that. That was okay, right? It didn't have any romantic intentions (and even if they were, there weren't any from Mark's side). Yet Donghyuck felt bad at the thought of hanging out with Mark when his relationship with Jeno was still not good. 

Donghyuck chewed in his lip as silence followed Marks question. A sigh was heard and Mark broke the tension.

"It's okay if you're busy, I just wanted to check if we could meet up," Mark said and Donghyuck closed his eyes. He wanted to say yes, but then what would Jeno think. Wouldn't Jeno assume he was a horrible person, wanting to hang out with Mark more than Jeno. Maybe Jeno would think he was being unfaithful, that he was cheating on him. But Donghyuck would never do that, he could never hurt Jeno. If hurting Mark was the only way to not hurt Jeno, he would do it.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Donghyuck cleared his throat, shuffling around on his bed as he spoke. "I can't come today, maybe another time?"

"Yeah, yeah! It's perfectly fine, don't worry," Mark hurriedly answered. "Anyways, I'll get going then. Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye," Donghyuck peeled his phone away from his ear and glanced down at it. It felt bad, it felt wrong, it feel painful. But _it was for Jeno._

Donghyuck put his phone to the side.

_It was for Jeno._

He turned around in his bed and stuffed his head into his blankets.

_It was for Jeno._

He wiped away the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

_It was for Jeno._ Donghyuck would do anything to remain loyal and keep Jeno happy.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm really sorry," Jeno said for the umpteenth time. He had said it so many times to Donghyuck he had lost count. What was it going to take before Donghyuck properly forgave him. "I'm really, really sorry. I was busy that day, Donghyuck. I swear, I didn't wanna miss it."

Donghyuck sent him a side glance before continuing with his work. Donghyuck had already told Jeno he had forgiven him, but he still hadn't actually done that. How could he anyways? Jeno had hurt him and he was going to have to do something big to fix it (and Donghyuck wishes it would happen soon, otherwise his feelings for Mark might develop even further).

"You're not forgiven," Donghyuck stuck his tongue out and read over his work. Holidays were great and all, if entrance exams for university weren't approaching them.

Jeno stared at Donghyuck with disbelief. If Donghyuck wasn't able to forgive him for such a small thing, how was he going to get Donghyuck to forgive him for cheating on him with Jaemin. Jeno bit down on his lip and shook his leg. He had to say it now or never anyways. Mark was on his back and he couldn't let Mark tell him. Then again, he had some stuff on Mark, and he believed it was enough to hold the older back for long enough. Jeno just needed the right time and atmosphere before he could let Donghyuck find out.

"I'll do anything for your forgiveness at this point," Jeno groaned loudly, dropping on Donghyuck's bed with a thud and Donghyuck had to fight the urge to smile. Whiny Jeno was fun to tease. "I mean it, I'll do anything."

"Hmm," Donghyuck put his pen down and held a hand to his chin, pretending to think hard about the offer. The horrified expression on Jeno's face was hilarious when Donghyuck told him to get his some dessert.

"What type of dessert do you want? And where from?" Jeno questioned, jumping up from his bed. Donghyuck blinked a few times in confusion, not expecting that reaction and Jeno kept bouncing on his spot. "Come on, I'll get it for you."

"Get me ice cream and waffles from, you know, the store near Taeyong hyung's cafe," Donghyuck waved his hand about and Jeno's jaw dropped. The place was a good hours drive away. The dessert was probably going to melt, but if it meant that Donghyuck would forgive him then he would definitely do it. It was the elast he could do.

"I'll be right back," Jeno left Donghyuck's room and soon the sound of the main door closing shut echoed in the hallway. Donghyuck giggled at the thought of Jeno driving all the way just to get some dessert for him. Maybe his dedication was enough to make Donghyuck forgive him. But his dedication also brought something else to his mind.

He thought Jeno had betrayed him.

Guilt rose up inside him as he thought about what he assumed had happened. Why would Jeno ever lie to him? Why would Jeno ever make a false excuse? Why would Jeno ever purposely make him stand out in the rain? Why would he be unfaithful to Donghyuck? He looked down at his paper and remembered how Jeno looked up at him with wide eyes, pleading for forgiveness. His mind wandered back to Mark, and then his grandma.

The timing wasn't right, but that should be alright. It should be alright. Jeno wasn't wrong. It was wrong. Jeno didn't do anything wrong.

Donghyuck held his head in his hands and took a deep breath. Why did his life have to become so overcomplicated. All he wanted was a cute boyfriend and a great bunch of friends. He had all of that but why were there so many unnecessary emotions lingering around. The confusion he felt, he anger, the sadness. It was so unnecessary. It didn't make sense.

Donghyuck shook his head and picked his pen again, ready for another few hours of revising.

The bell to Donghyuck's house rang and he rushed out of his seat. He didn't even realise when time flew but a few hours had gone past. Donghyuck opened the door and was immediately hit in the face with a bag.

"What's this?" Donghyuck said as he brought the bag away from his face.

"Ice cream and waffles," Jeno said, shooting him a large smile. Donghyuck rolled his eyes before looking down and then up.

"Did you really get them from that specific shop?" Donghyuck gulped and Jeno slowly nodded. "You know you—"

"I did," Jeno interrupted him. "I had to, if it meant I would gain your forgiveness, I would do anything for you."

Donghyuck smiled shyly before hurrying over to the living room to munch in, since it probably would've already started melting. His heart warmed at the fact that Jeno had driven out of town just for him. Jeno had done that for him. Jeno really did like him.

Jeno looked in the living room where Donghyuck had started poking his fork into his waffle and sprayed his ice cream on top. He took a few steps back so that he could be hidden by the door and pulled his phone out. Jeno tapped on the contact and waited a few moments.

"_Yo, what is it?"_ Mark's voice came out slightly messed up.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks," Jeno smiled softly and Mark sighed.

"_Yeah, yeah. I know I'm a good friend_," Jeno hummed in agreement before Mark spoke up again. "_But why did you want those ice cream and waffles from that specific shop? I had to drive for a whole hour just to get there and then a whole hour back._"

"I don't know," Jeno peered over the door and caught sight of Donghyuck happily chewing on a waffle piece. The smile on his face tightened and his mind remembered Jaemin, who he had just spent the whole day with. "I just heard about it so wanted to check it out."

"_Anyways have you and Donghyuck—"_

And Jeno cut the call.


	6. Chapter 6

Jaemin had been ignoring Donghyuck and Donghyuck knew. It was so obvious. Donghyuck didn't know what he had done wrong. Had he annoyed Jaemin by being too hung up over his grandma? Was Jaemin slowly losing interest in their friendship? Or maybe Jaemin was busy— yeah, it must've been that. Jaemin and Donghyuck treasured their friendship too much, it would be impossible for one of them to lose interest after spending so many years together.

On the other hand, as Donghyuck felt as if his friendship with Jaemin was worsening, his friendship with the others was strengthening. The other day, Renjun had hugged Donghyuck and told him he liked him the most out of their friends group. It wasn't much of a surprise, since Renjun never hid the way he felt towards people, yet it still surprised Donghyuck. He was happy he managed to get involved in a friends group that's seemed inseperable. He wished nothing would change (except for Jaemin's current attitude toward Donghyuck).

"Hey," Jeno waved his hand in front of Donghyuck and chuckled when he jerked his head back in surprise. "We're on a date, yet you're spacing out?"

"Ah, sorry," Donghyuck mumbled, a small smile etched on his face and he brought his milkshake to his lips. After the incident with the desserts, Donghyuck had decided to forgive Jeno properly. The whining and constant affection he gave melted Donghyuck's heart and he couldn't bring himself to be angry at Jeno for any longer. "I was just thinking about stuff."

"Like?" Jeno leaned down and took a sip of his coffee (coffee? Donghyuck thought Jeno hated coffee). "You know you can tell me stuff."

"It's about Jaemin," Donghyuck watched as the hand Jeno outstretched towards him froze for a split second (_stop thinking about that Donghyuck_, he told himself).

"What about Jaemin?" Jeno placed his hand over Donghyuck's and looked at him with confusion.

"He's avoiding me," Donghyuck sighed, throwing his head back to emphasize his stress. "I don't know what I've done. But I'm ready to say sorry for whatever it is."

Jeno pat his hand softly before pulling away with a frown. Donghyuck waited for him to say something but instead a long silence settled down between them. It wasn't awkward or comforting. It was just silence. They had nothing to talk about. That was another thing Donghyuck realised.

Ever since Donghyuck started hanging out with Mark, Renjun and the others he began to lose things to say to Jeno. It used to be so much fun before, when they were still new to each other and learning about each other. But it didn't make any sense. If it was about how long they had known about each other then Donghyuck should've gotten bored by Mark as well. It didn't make sense.

"Jaemin?" Jeno spoke out loud when the freshly dyed blonde walked into the cafe. Jaemin looked around in surprise and finally noticed Jeno. He smiled brightly as was going to shout a reply but then his eyes travelled to Donghyuck, who kept his back facing him.

"Hey," Jaemin said softly, shuffling closer to them and stood awkwardly beside them. He glanced down at Donghyuck but the older kept his eyes glued to the table, the milkshake in his hand getting stirred by his straw. "Hyuck."

"Nana," Donghyuck nodded before talking a big gulp of his milkshake. Jaemin looked over at Jeno for help, but the latter only shrugged and looked at Donghyuck with the same amount of worry Jaemin did.

"Hey, I'm sorry for not being able to hang out with you," Jaemin started, already getting an idea of why Donghyuck might be upset. "I'm just really busy recently."

"So busy that you can't even reply to my texts?" Donghyuck turned his head to the side and caught Jaemin's eyes. The younger flinched at his harsh tone and let out a sigh.

"Hyuck, please understand," Jaemin crouched down beside him and took his hand into his own. "I would've replied to what you had said but my teachers had been telling me about internships and the whole process of applying and—" He took a deep breath and Donghyuck immediately felt horrible for doubting him. How could've Donghyuck ever doubt Jaemin, his best friend? "I'm sorry."

The way Jaemin held his head low and his voice flattened near the end of the apology, Donghyuck felt bad. He had thought that Jaemin was sneaking behind his back and doing things he didn't even want to think about, but he actually wasn't. Donghyuck couldn't believe that he had assumed such disgusting things about his best friend.

"No, no," Donghyuck hurriedly said, guilt and regret clear in his voice. "I'm sorry. I should've understood that you were busy."

Jaemin stayed on the floor for a while longer before looking up with grateful eyes. They shared a smile and Jaemin reached over to hug Donghyuck.

"Guys, don't ignore me!" Jeno complained and Donghyuck wanted to laugh.

"Sorry, sorry," Jaemin chuckled and he pat Jeno's cheek. "I should get going now."

"Why? Can't you join me and Jeno?" Donghyuck pouted and Jaemin smiled at him fondly, pinching his lips before shaking his head. 

"Can't. I got an assignment to finish," Jaemin ran a hand through his hair and Donghyuck just realised it was a different colour. Jaemin caught his lingering eyes and wiggled his eyebrows. "Dyed my hair, does it look nice?"

Donghyuck nodded dumbly, still amazed by how well Jaemin was pulling off the colour and Jeno spoke up. "Yeah, you look nice Nana."

Donghyuck blinked in confusion when Jaemin and Jeno shared a sweet look between them but he brushed it off. He was in no position to question Jeno and Jaemin's relationship when his own one with Mark was such a mess.

"We need to meet up, okay?" Donghyuck grabbed Jaemin's hands before he could leave. "Just a few months ago we used to hang out with each other all the time. I wanna do that again!"

"Yes, yes, you little baby," Jaemin laughed and then pulled his hands away. "I'm going now, but we'll meet again soon."

"Yes!" Donghyuck cheered and waved goodbye to Jaemin. He turned to Jeno to tell him something when he realised his milkshake was gone. "What—where—" Donghyuck glanced outside the window to see Jaemin walking down the road with a milkshake in his hand. A chuckle escaped Donghyuck's lips and he shared what he found funny with Jeno. "Jaemin has a tendency to steal my stuff, but I'm alright with it."

For the rest of the date, Jeno remained silent


	7. Chapter 7

Donghyuck threw his phone across his bed as a notification popped up. It was a dramatic action, yes he knows that, but it was caused by a certain mint-haired boy he knew. It had been a few weeks since the last time Donghyuck and Mark spoke, and it was mostly Donghyuck's fault (since he purposely chose to ignore Marks texts) but the older didn't quite make an effort either. Of course, Donghyuck still longed to meet Mark, due to the small feelings he had been catching but remembered he was Jeno's boyfriend and couldn't do something as horrible as cheating.

The message from Mark was really sudden and not expected. Donghyuck knew Mark treasured friendships the way he did, however, he didn't expect him to come out of the blue and ask Donghyuck why he was avoiding him. Now, how could Donghyuck tell Mark that the reason he was avoiding him was because of the tiny crush he had. 

"Just decline," Donghyuck said to himself, nodding at nothing in particular and typed away. It took him a total of 20 seconds to be convinced to come out ice skating. "Great job, Donghyuck. You declined like an absolute boss."

Donghyuck rolled his eyes at his own sarcasm and jumped out of his bed. Although he felt bad that he was meeting up with Mark holding the wrong intentions, he just couldn't help himself. With Jeno being so distant and Jaemin out of reach, Donghyuck had no one else to talk to. Sure, there was Renjun, but Donghyuck felt like he could talk more freely with Mark.

With a huff, Donghyuck pulled his arms through his sweater. School had been a mess and Donghyuck preferred to not think about it. Exams were round the corner and study leave had been granted, meaning Donghyuck spent more time at home alone. Every time Donghyuck would call Jaemin to come study with him, the blonde would tell him about how he has an assignment to get help on from his teachers (which Donghyuck assumes are lies since he visited the school at the same time Jaemin claimed to yet found no traces of the other).

"It's just friendly between you and Mark," Donghyuck relayed to himself, hoping that by saying it multiple times, he could manage to convince himself. 

It was such a cliché. Donghyuck was falling for Mark, his boyfriends best friend. He had watched enough TV shows and anime to know that this was a common thing to happen. At first, when Donghyuck came across this trope, he didn't understand how anyone could fall out of love some easily. Being Donghyuck, the boy who cherished all the love he was given and tried his best to return it twice as much, he refused to believe the characters could lose interest in each other. It didn't make any sense to him. 

But as Donghyuck walked out of his house and jogged over to the bus stop Mark had told him to reach, he wondered if he was experiencing the same thing. Falling out of love? It seemed too much like a foreign concept to him. He could never allow it to happen between him and Jeno. The poor older boy still loved Donghyuck yet here his boyfriend was, all dressed up and ready to meet his best friend. Donghyuck felt guilty.

"Hey," Mark said, nudging Donghyuck's elbow once he arrived at the bus stop. Donghyuck sent him a tight smile before turning his gaze down to glare at the floor. Why couldn't he keep his feelings in check? "You never answered my question."

"Your question?" Donghyuck echoed as they got off the bus and made their way to the ice rink. "What question?"

"The one where I asked you why you were avoiding me," Mark blurted out and left Donghyuck no chance to have any time to think about an answer. "And don't even say you're not. I'm surprised you even came out here with me today. Donghyuck...did I do something wrong? Please tell me what I did wrong? I don't want our friendship to just break off that quickly."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Donghyuck winced, bringing a hand to his head and covered his eyes. Mark was not at fault for this. Sure, it was slightly his fault for being cute all the time and appreciating Donghyuck to the point it felt like there was something more between them, but Mark never did this with the intentions of romantic love. He probably did it because he considered Donghyuck a close friend.

"Then what's wrong?" Mark questioned. "Why have you been avoiding me? You've been talking to Renjun and the others but—"

"It's something I can't tell you," Donghyuck clenched his hands into fists and tried to hold himself back from telling Make the truth. He deserved to know. He deserved to know that Donghyuck had been crushing in him despite having a boyfriend.

"Why?" Mark's voice was softer than before but Donghyuck's eyes remained fixated to the floor. 

Without giving an answer, Donghyuck does ahead and took ice skates of his size. He hurriedly changed his shoes and jumped onto the ice rink. Mark sighed at the sight and slowly got his own ice skates. Within seconds, Mark was trailing behind Donghyuck. 

"Donghyuck!" He called out, but Donghyuck didn't pay any mind to him. "Donghyuck, listen!"

Mark sped up and grabbed Donghyuck's arm, spinning him around and pushed him against the railing. 

"What's wrong?" Mark asked in s gentle voice. Donghyuck had his eyes squeezed shut and backed up against the wall. "Donghyuck, please just tell me."

"You'll stop talking to me, if I do," Donghyuck finally replied after a few moments of silence. Mark tilted his head to the side, not understanding how the truth could make him want to leave and urged on. "I'm not joking, Mark. If I tell you why I've been avoiding you, you will immediately leave."

"I would never do that to you," Mark sighed and leaned forward, placing his forehead on Donghyuck's shoulder. He was too close, he knew that, but it felt right. The warmth Mark gave him in his heart, his body, everything. It felt right. Donghyuck relaxed under Mark's touch and took a few deep breaths. There was a high possibility that Mark was going to send him a disgusted look before rushing to tell Jeno about how horrible he is. Or, Mark would gently let him down, telling him how he doesn't return any of the feelings...before running to tell Jeno.

Either way, Mark would probably tell Jeno about this and Donghyuck would have to live through the shame. There was no other way around this.

"I was avoiding you, because," Donghyuck raised his head and waited for Mark to detach himself from him. "Because...well, you know how people get close with each other, and then they start caring for that person?" Mark nodded and Donghyuck internally groaned. He had no idea where he was going with this. "Well, we grew close, right?" Another nod. "So when that happened, I started caring for you deeply, very deep," Donghyuck placed his hand over his chest and pressed it down. Mark's eyes followed him. "But...it was too much. I cared too much about you."

"What do you mean by that?" 

"Mark, I—" Donghyuck took once last glance at Mark's face, taking in all the concern and affection he was holding in his eyes. It was probably the last time he would see that look. "I think I like you."

"You what?" Mark jerked back in surprise, almost slipping because of the ice. "You— you think you like me?"

"Ah! See, this was a bad idea," Donghyuck hit his head with his hand as he watched Mark inch away from him. 

"No, no!" Mark shook his head and flapped his hands about. "It wasn't a bad idea...just caught me off-guard."

Before Donghyuck could say anything, he felt a hand grab his and was pulled to the side. He closed his eyes as his feet skid against the ice and his head his a surface. Donghyuck stood still before pulling away to look up.

"Jeno?" Donghyuck gave Jeno a weird look and took his hands out of his grip. "What're you doing here?"

"I was—" Jeno paused and realised Jaemin was hiding at the moment. "I was just visiting to check how this place would be like, so we could come together later. What about you? Why are you here? With Mark?"

"We were just catching up," Mark answered and Donghyuck felt relief pass through him. He hadn't told Jeno about what had happened. "It had been a while since we had spoken."

"Ah, yeah," Jeno nodded. "I heard from Renjun the two of you had been fighting."

"We weren't fighting," Donghyuck cleared out, feeling his knees go weak as Mark throw his arm over his shoulder.

"Yeah, we were both too busy to meet up," Mark chimed in and Jeno smiled at the two.

"I have to go now, I'll see you later, yeah?" Jeno directed his question to Donghyuck and they both shared a look. As soon as he was out of sight, Donghyuck snapped his head towards Mark.

"I—I have to go now," Donghyuck lied. He didn't have anything to do at all that day. "This has been really fun. Bye, Mark."

Donghyuck hurriedly off, feeling guilt fill him as he realised that he had just confessed to Mark. Donghyuck had confessed that he had romantic feelings towards Mark, whilst dating Jeno. He felt horrible. How could he have done that? Mark would've been so disappointed and Jeno would probably be disgusted. Truth be told, Donghyuck felt disgusted with himself as well.

Mark watched as Donghyuck rushed out of the centre and he leaned against the railings. He had no choice left. He had to tell Donghyuck the truth about why Jeno disappears on him. Donghyuck deserves to know the truth and Mark will tell him everything.


	8. Chapter 8

Mark sat up against the headrests of his bed and stared at the mirror across his room. How could he tell Donghyuck that his boyfriend had been cheating on him? He had to let it down slowly, to make sure Donghyuck didn't get hit with the news too harshly. But he also needed to tell him with enough confidence that Donghyuck believed him. There was a high chance the younger would dismiss the idea of Jeno cheating on him and laugh it off, not even knowing that it was the truth.

If Mark was to tell Donghyuck, everything between him and Jeno would end. The friendship they had ever since they were kids, it would be gone. Then again, did it really matter? Jeno had been dominating majority of his life and never gave him a proper chance to redeem himself for their past together.

Mark let out a sigh as he held his head in his hands. There was truly no good ending to whichever plan Mark chose to follow. If he told Donghyuck, the two would break up and Mark would probably lose Jeno and the entire group. On the other hand, if Mark didn't tell Donghyuck, then the younger would find out a long time afterwards, causing him to lose his trust in Mark and there goes another friendship. 

"But Donghyuck's happiness is more important than my past or our relationship," Mark said to himself. Donghyuck would be happier once he got rid of Jeno from his life. Not only Jeno but Jaemin as well. Perhaps Jaemin had been an amazing friend before Jeno came into the picture, but he wasn't anymore and neither was he attempting to fix himself. "I'll tell him now."

Mark stood up and grabbed his phone. He was going to finally tell Donghyuck, but he decided that telling him face to face would be better. However, before revealing the truth to Donghyuck, Mark gave Jeno a heads up.

  
  
  


** _Mark_ **

_ I'm telling Donghyuck everything about you and Jaemin _

  
  


_ **Jeno** _

_ You wouldn't dare to _

_ You know I'm not joking when I say I'll tell everyone about your past _

  
  


_ **Mark** _

_ Go on _

_ idc _

_ Donghyuck is more important  _

  
  
  


With that, Mark stuffed his phone into his pocket and grabbed his jacket. He couldn't allow his past to hold him back anymore. Mark hurried out of his house and ran down the street. It was better if he met with Donghyuck quickly and got done with this problem.

As Mark turned the corner from his road, he thought back to when he was younger. Mark's parents had died when he was a kid. If you were to see the Mark now, you would assume he didn't let that fact hurt him too much. But it did. And it caused not only Mark pain but Jeno. 

Since Mark was still a child, he was going to be given to his uncle in Canada, but since this relative was too far away and wasn't willing to take responsibility, Mark ended up joining his best friends family. Jeno was a quiet kid who never liked to talk much. Although he smiled like an angel, no words ever escaped his mouth. 

Jeno's parents had first thought their child couldn't speak, but then slowly realised it was because he was shy and scared to talk. When Mark entered his life, he began to become more social. He would laugh loudly, talk non-stop and never take a break. His friend group suddenly expanded and Jeno became popular. Mark didn't like this.

Why did Jeno, the one who still had parents, end up having such a great life? Jeno had parents who loved him to the core. Jeno had friends who actually enjoyed hanging out with him. Jeno even had a bunch of girls chase him and Mark simply didn't understand how he could become that popular.

And with that, Mark began to call him out on everything. Jeno couldn't possibly be perfect at everything, so Mark was determined to catch him. From an outsider's view, it seemed as though Mark was bullying Jeno. It wasn't as extreme or serious as other cases, however, it was still a form of bullying. Mark remembers clearly how he got caught. He had locked Jeno in the storage room and said he won't let him out until Jeno's parents came home. Their flight was scheduled to land half a day later. 

Mark had fallen asleep in his room when Jeno's parents came home to find their son locked in the storage room, crying his eyes out. Enraged, Jeno's dad told Mark to leave the house to stay in the storage room for the same time as Jeno had spent. Adamant that he had done nothing wrong, Mark had argued back and forth with Jeno's parents, claiming that it wasn't fair Jeno had an easier life. The day Mark turned 16, despite it being illegal, he moved out. 

  
  


The sight of Donghyuck's house approached and Mark took a deep breath. He already felt sick. Just from remembering his past, Mark felt worse about himself. He had ruined Jeno's childhood, so what right did he have to stand outside of Donghyuck's house, ready to reveal his secrets and ruin his first relationship? 

Mark chewed down on his lip and curled his toes. This could go in multiple directions. But he had to do it. Mark raised his hand and knocked on the door. He heard footsteps and a slight bit of chatter before the door was opened. Mark had thought Donghyuck would open it, but instead, it was Jeno, glaring at Mark and stood in front of Donghyuck to hide him.

"What do you want?" Jeno grumbled and Donghyuck looked from between the two.

"I want to speak with Donghyuck," Mark said, looking Donghyuck straight in the eyes. Donghyuck stared back, his eyes were filled with confusion whereas Mark's were filled with determination.

"Well, you can't," Jeno made a move to shut the door and both, Donghyuck and Mark, reached forwards to keep it open. "Donghyuck, leave it."

"But I want to know what he wants to say," Donghyuck frowned and then glanced over at Mark, who had had enough of this. Mark pushed Jeno to the side and grabbed Donghyuck's arm, jerking him forward and dragged him out of the house. Jeno followed closely behind and tried to reach for Donghyuck, but Mark spun him around. 

"Donghyuck," Mark started, pulling the younger closer and felt his body heat up. It wasn't the time to be thinking of those things. "Listen to me very closely. I've been wanting to tell you something for a while now, but was scared to do so."

"What is it?" Donghyuck and Mark ignored Jeno, who kept pushing Mark to the side and was sprouting a string of nonsense. 

"Please, don't hate me for not telling you sooner," Mark closed his eyes and then snapped them open. "Jeno... Jeno—he"s— he's been cheating on you with Jaemin." 

Silence flooded them and Donghyuck's eyes widened comically. Jeno's heart dropped and Mark could feel the tension arise. He also felt a sense of relief. He had finally told Donghyuck. If it was this relieving, Mark wondered why he hadn't done this earlier. But then Donghyuck threw his head back and let out a laugh. 

"Ha, ha, very funny, Mark," Donghyuck pulled his arm out of Mark's grip and turned to Jeno. "He's joking, right? Gosh...your humour...."

Donghyuck watched as Jeno's gaze lowered to the ground and he didn't answer his question. Mark remained frozen on his spot and Donghyuck slowly began to realise that what Mark had just said was the truth.

"You're lying, right?" Donghyuck asked Mark, poking his arm and waiting for a reaction. He never got one. Donghyuck's breathing fastened and he took a step back. "This isn't true. Jeno, you wouldn't do that, would you? Especially not with Nana. Jaemin wouldn't ever hurt me like this. Jaemin cares too much for me."

Donghyuck blinked rapidly and tears sprung out of his eyes. Jeno hung his head down and Donghyuck grabbed his shoulders.

"Jeno, tell me what Mark just said wasn't the truth," Donghyuck pleaded, already in tears. Jeno glanced up and winced. Donghyuck took it very badly. "No, no, no, no, no. You guys are playing a prank on me. Jeno— you— Mark, you wouldn't have hidden this from me for a long time if it was true."

Donghyuck continued with his hysterics until Mark stopped him by embracing him. "Donghyuck..." He whispered and caressed the younger's head gently. "I'm sorry, but it's true."

Donghyuck let out a shaky breath before pushing Mark away. "You— you hid this from me for so long!" Donghyuck then turned to Jeno, disgust plastered over his face. "And you!" Donghyuck balled his hands into fists and in the blur of the moment, punched Jeno in the face, grimacing as he felt his knuckles sting at the contact. "Here I was, worried about my feelings towards Mark, but you— you were out there with Jaemin this whole time? All those dates we went on? The confessions? Did none of it even matter?"

"It did," Jeno mumbled, holding a hand to his face where he felt the pain spread. "I did like you at one point."

"At one point," Donghyuck echoed before chuckling bitterly. "Jeno, I would've understood if you simply told me you had fallen out of this relationship. If you told me you no longer liked me the way you did, or that you have developed feelings for Jaemin instead, I would've let you go! We wouldn't be going through this right now!"

"I'm sorry," Jeno answered after Donghyuck finished. His breathing was still unstable and Donghyuck could feel his limbs weakening. He couldn't afford to let these two see him in his vulnerable state any longer. 

"An apology won't be able to fix this," Donghyuck brushed past Jeno and looked over his shoulder. "In fact, nothing will. Don't talk to me ever again."

The door to Donghyuck's house closed shut and Jeno fell onto his knees, clutching onto his face in pain. Mark looked down at him and eyed Jeno as he looked up at him.

"Can you—"

"No," Mark replied and spun on his heels. "I had warned you."

With that, Mark left.


	9. Chapter 9

Donghyuck was sad. He was laying on his bed, staring at his ceiling and thought back to all the dates he went on with Jeno. Did any of them even mean anything to Jeno? Donghyuck didn't understand what he had done wrong for Jeno to have cheated on him. And on top of that, what wrong did he do to make Jeno cheat on him with his best friend. 

Donghyuck was annoyed that Mark didn't tell him earlier. How long had he known for? Why did he hide it? Why was Mark more scared than Jeno, and why did he look more regretful? It didn't make any sense. Donghyuck hated this. He wanted to blame Mark for some of the pain he was experiencing but he also wanted to thank him. Donghyuck doesn't know whether or not to Mark knew it from the beginning, or if he had just recently found out. Then again Mark had told him it had been a while since he held this secret.

"Stupid," Donghyuck murmured, turning around in his bed to look at the mirror opposite him. His hair was a mess — he hadn't gotten up all morning — and his cheeks were bright red, almost as if he had a fever, however, it was actually because of all the anger he was holding in. "Stupid Donghyuck. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could you have believed them?"

Jeno was so painfully obvious, now that Donghyuck thought back to it. He already had his suspicions but Donghyuck didn't imagine Jeno could've done something like this. Jaemin was meant to be his best friend, his partner in crime, the only one who truly understood Donghyuck, yet he had gone and stabbed him in the back without an ounce of pity.

His eyes were dry and he couldn't find it in himself to cry over this. Honestly, he didn't think he should cry. It wasn't his fault. Jeno and Jaemin (and maybe Mark) had done this to cause Donghyuck pain, to make him cry his eyes out and fall back into his ball of self-pity. But Donghyuck couldn't allow that to happen. If he did what they expected him to do, then it would show how weak and easily hurt he was. He couldn't let their actions hurt him.

The door of his house opened and closed quietly. Donghyuck peeled his eyes off his reflection and trailed it to his bedroom door. The footsteps coming up the stairs got louder until they stopped in front of his door.

"Hyuckie?" Donghyuck recognised that voice. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Donghyuck breathed out and the door slowly opened. Jaehyun, his cousin, poked his head in and looked at Donghyuck with a sigh.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked, entering the room and tiptoed over all the cans of red bull thrown haphazardly across the floor. "Your mum told me you haven't gotten out of your room at all for the past week."

"I'm okay," Donghyuck answered, huffing out a breath and turned around on his bed. He hoped that his pathetic attempt of denial would be accepted, but obviously, Jaehyun didn't go down without a challenge.

"Tell me what's wrong," Jaehyun said once he climbed into the bed and pulled Donghyuck closer to himself. "I know something is up otherwise you wouldn't be like this. It can't be because of grandma, and I'm sure your parents have done anything either."

"Jeno," Donghyuck mumbled and Jaehyun seemed to catch it. "He cheated on me."

"What?" Jaehyun arose from the bed but Donghyuck was quick to bring him back, carefully clasping the older's arms around his waist and snuggled back. "He cheated on you? With who?"

"Jaemin."

"That bastard," Jaehyun fumed. Donghyuck smiled a little to himself because as weird as it sounded, he felt relieved that there was someone else who was now sharing his anger. If he had bottled it up then he wouldn't have been able to get over anything. "I'll beat him up for you."

"Don't," Donghyuck replied, tapping Jaehyun's arms as a warning. "What happened, happened. There's no way it can be changed and beating him up won't solve anything. He cheated on me, so it was his loss."

"But he hurt you," Jaehyun argued, unable to understand why his cousin was willing to allow Jeno's mistakes to scar him deeply yet take no action to heal them. 

"Physical pain won't count to the emotional distress he caused me," Donghyuck turned around so that he was facing Jaehyun and cupped his cheeks. "Hyung, he did something bad and I no longer harbour feelings for him anymore, okay?"

"Are you sure?" Jaehyun asked, squinting as he glanced over Donghyuck's red-rimmed eyes and dishevelled state. "Hyuckie, if you need someone for support, I'm here. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Donghyuck smiled up at him and embraced him. 

Time went on and Jaehyun left the room, assuming Donghyuck had fallen asleep. The door to the main door opened before it finally shut. As it closed, all the gates for Donghyuck emotions opened and it all poured out. Who was Donghyuck kidding? He didn't want to cry, but he did. The tears stung him and he tried to force them away. Jeno and Jaemin didn't deserve his tears. They weren't worth it. Yet the tears still fell and stained his cheeks. As much as he refused to get hurt over this it still pierced his heart and went straight to his soul. 

Donghyuck immediately jumped up from his bed, scavenging for his phone. The best way to get rid of all these emotions would be through cutting them off. He switched his phone on and it began to buzz with notifications. Multiple messages from Jaemin and even more missed calls from Mark. There was nothing from Jeno. But did he really expect anything from him at this point?

His hand hovered above the block option for Jaemin. Maybe if Donghyuck spoke to him they could clear out what he had done to him? Maybe Jaemin didn't mean to hurt Donghyuck. What if Jaemin was forced into this relationship with Jeno? Surely, he couldn't do anything to cause Donghyuck pain. He was Donghyuck's best friend. He was Donghyuck's platonic soulmate. He wouldn't ruin their friendship over Jeno, right?

_No_, Donghyuck thought, shaking his head. Jaemin had betrayed him and there was no other way to look at it. 

Donghyuck tapped on the block option and watched as Jaemin's profile became hidden. He took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. He had already blocked Jeno the second his phone had switched on, so the last one left was Mark. Donghyuck stared at Mark's profile picture and smiled to himself.

Mark had managed to warm up to him fairly quickly. They were closer than Donghyuck was with any of the others in the group and only Mark could cause his heart to swell the way it did around him. But he knew about Jeno and Jaemin. He knew that his friends were using Donghyuck as nothing but a toy in their relationship. He was being thrown back and forth between Jeno and Jaemin, yet Mark hadn't done anything to stop it. He could've told Donghyuck earlier, when things hadn't gotten as serious as they had now, about what Jeno and Jaemin's true relationship was. What their true feelings were.

Just as Donghyuck made the decision to block Mark, his phone went blank and a call notification popped up. It was from Mark.

With a heavy heart, Donghyuck picked up the call.

"Hello," He whispered, not trusting his voice to speak any louder. 

"Donghyuck," Mark sighed into the phone and Donghyuck could hear his deep breathing. "Come outside, please."


	10. Chapter 10

Donghyuck embraced himself as the cold air hit his body. It was a great contrast as his body was heated from all the crying he had done. What Mark had said shouldn't have convinced him as quickly as it did, but Donghyuck didn't exactly mind. He wanted to know what Mark's reasoning was. Why was Mark so afraid of not telling him what was wrong?

The car was parked outside his house so Donghyuck hurriedly climbed into it and buckled his seatbelt. Mark had the heater on and so Donghyuck relaxed into the seat quickly. Silence filled the car as they pulled out of the parking spot and began to drive down the road. It was night and Donghyuck's mum was in another city with her sister. Donghyuck would've joined her if he hadn't been so down in the dumps. 

"Donghyuck," Mark said as the car climbed onto the motorway. "Can I explain myself?"

Donghyuck took his slippers off and pulled his legs to his chest, softly placing his chin between his knees and then hummed. "Go on."

"As you know, I've known Jeno since we were kids," Mark started. There weren't many cars around them — only about five — and the light sound coming from the radio was making Donghyuck feel sleepy. At the mention of Jeno, Donghyuck preferred to go to sleep rather than listen to him talk about Jeno. "After what happened with my parents and then my relatives back in Canada, his family was very happy to let me move in with them."

Donghyuck kept his eyes fixed on the road as he flew past. He was listening, of course he was, but he didn't want Mark to know that he was eager to find out what his reason was. 

"Obviously, as a kid who had just lost their parents, I used to look for attention," Mark chewed down on his lip and glanced to his left to see that Donghyuck was still not looking at him. He sighed and continued. "Jeno used to get a lot of love from his parents, and once he began to open up more and finally came out of his shell he got love from everyone. It was meant to be something I should've been proud of, since I helped him gain confidence and reassured him that nothing bad would happen, but I sadly didn't."

"You didn't?" Donghyuck echoed, tilting his head to the side to catch a glimpse of Mark's expression. The older had his eyebrows furrowed and he was frowning at himself. 

"I didn't," Mark repeated with a small groan. "I was selfish and wanted to get loved by someone. Jeno's parents were nice, they really were, but they couldn't love me the same way they loved their own son, despite all the promises they made. I got upset and angry."

"You got angry?" Donghyuck shifted in his seat to look at Mark with a surprised face. From the time he spent with Mark, he knew that the older never got angry. 

"Yeah..." Mark let out another deep sigh. "I did." He shook his head and went on with his story. "I began to hurt Jeno in every way that I could, I know that sounds bad, it was bad. He would cry at night — he thought I couldn't hear him but I could. He once asked me why I did this to him but I just brushed him away. You know what was worse?"

"What?" Donghyuck mumbled, too shocked to speak any louder.

"The fact that he would smile at me whenever he could," Mark's voice cracked yet Donghyuck couldn't find it in himself to laugh at it. "He would smile and ask me if I wanted to join him when he did things with his friends. He would ask me if I had eaten or if I wanted to check out the latest game he had bought. Jeno was so nice to me, it truly hurt."

"Then what happened?" Donghyuck asked, turning his entire body around to face Mark. He couldn't hide the curiosity that filled his body. How could someone who hurt another person deeply and felt no remorse or regret whilst doing it have changed into someone like Mark? It shocked Donghyuck how quickly someone could change themselves.

"I got caught by Jeno's parents once day," Mark chuckled bitterly, turning the steering wheel to take an exit but Donghyuck had no idea where they were heading and at this point he didn't really care. "They got angry at me and demanded that I left as soon as possible."

Mark's hands on the steering wheel tightened and Donghyuck watched as his knuckles turned white. Without hesitation, Donghyuck reached forward and placed a hand over Mark's, hoping it would comfort the other. It did. Mark almost immediately loosened his grip and his shoulder slouched. 

"Donghyuck," Mark swallowed and cleared his throat. "I promise to you, I was going to tell you everything that Jeno and Jaemin had been doing behind your back, I really was. I had hope that the two would come to their senses and tell you themselves but they didn't. The reason it took me so long to tell you that was because Jeno had held my past against me. He— he told me that he would tell you everything about what I did to him, about how I ruined his childhood. But I swear—I've changed! I'm not like my old self anymore."

Mark's breath fastened as he spoke in shorten phrases. Donghyuck's heart ached to see him so scared and worried. He didn't want Mark to be in such a state.

"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier," Mark rambled on. "I know I'm a horrible person for the things I've done—god...I can't even look at you properly right now. Saying all of this out loud really does hurt a lot. I'm so—"

"It's okay," Donghyuck finally interrupted him and placed his free hand on Mark's shoulder. "I forgive you, Mark, you did nothing wrong. Your past? I don't care about that. It doesn't define who you are right now. You learnt from your actions and changed. That's all that matters. So neither call yourself a bad person nor apologise for hiding that secret. Jeno was holding you back on something that should've been forgiven and forgotten."

"Thank you," Mark whispered and then sat up straight. "I had to ask," He cleared his throat, shaking off all the emotions that poured into him after he told Donghyuck his past. "Have you forgiven Jaemin?"

"I want to forgive Jaemin," Donghyuck muttered, taking his hands off Mark and wrapped them around his legs. "He's been my best friend since like forever and I can't seem to imagine a life without him. But what he did...it's unforgivable. He could've told me he liked Jeno and that they wanted to date. If they had told me and didn't go on with a relationship behind my back, I probably would've forgiven him for, you know, 'stealing my boyfriend'. Since he didn't, instead he lied to me and basically ruined my first relationship, I don't think I can forgive him."

"And Jeno?" Mark asked in a small voice. A dry laugh escaped Donghyuck's mouth.

"Jeno?" He scoffed, rolling his eyes and pressed himself back in the seat. "Never. He doesn't deserve my forgiveness."

Silence follows as Donghyuck continued to stare out of the window. The most important exams of the year were coming soon yet he was still stressing over a failed relationship. His education was more important than what his relationship status was. Donghyuck frowned to himself as he thought back to all the time he wasted that he could've spent studying. Jeno and Jaemin weren't worth the time that he had wasted. They weren't worth anything for him. 

The car came to a stop and Donghyuck looked around in confusion. It was fairly dark outside but he could make out a store not far away. 

"Where are we?" Donghyuck inquired and sat up in his seat, allowing his feet to touch the ground but then immediately pulled them up like a scared child and brought them to his chest once again. "Mark, if you brought me out here after having such a long and emotional chat just to kill me, I suggest you rethink your choices. I learnt how to fight when I was a kid."

Donghyuck held out his fists but coward away as Mark leaned closer.

"Oh really?" Mark attempted to stifle his laughter. "What're you gonna do? Punch me with your baby hands?"

Donghyuck perked up at that and threw a fist straight for Mark's stomach. The older let out a whine and fell back on his seat. Their playful fight dismissed the awkward aura around them and it felt normal again. Almost as if nothing had happened.

"I'll be right back, you can lock the car from inside," Mark said as he hopped out of the car. He didn't need to know that the second he closed the door, Donghyuck locked the car and began to sing to himself in fear that there was something nearby. 

As Mark disappeared from Donghyuck's sight, he began to think about how the older hadn't rejected him yet. After the messy confession he had made when they had met up, Donghyuck expected him to have told him by now that he didn't like him. Then again, Mark was too kind for his own good and would probably never hurt Donghyuck. He was probably just pretending as if he didn't remember it, or didn't understand what Donghyuck meant. 

"Ahh," Donghyuck groaned and held his face in his hands. Mark didn't understand what he said, which meant Mark didn't even know that Donghyuck liked him. "I'm an idiot."

A knock resonated in the car and Donghyuck's heart dropped. He slowly raised his head to see a bag against the door and more knocking follow it.

"Open the door, Donghyuck!" Mark yelled after the younger refused to unlock the car.

"Oh my god, it's only you Mark," Donghyuck breathed out in relief and unlocked the car, feeling stupid for assuming a murderer had suddenly appeared by the door to finish him.

"Who else did you think it was?" Mark huffed and climbed into the car. He handed Donghyuck the bag in his hands and then settled down, waiting for the younger to react.

Donghyuck looked down at the bag and his jaw dropped in shock. The same dessert that he had asked Jeno to get him not long ago had been placed neatly in his lap.

"Mark?" Donghyuck looked up at him and then back at the bag. "How did you— when?"

"I just knew," Mark smiled at him, not wanting to tell him that he was the one who got him the desserts last time he asked for them.

"Thank—wow...thank you," Donghyuck rubbed his eyes as he felt the exhaustion of everything fall onto him. "Thank you so much."

"It's no problem," Mark pat his back and then panicked once he saw Donghyuck begin to cry. "Why are you crying? Are you not happy? I'm sorry—"

"No, no. Don't apologise," Donghyuck sniffled and wiped away his tears. "I just feel bad."

"Why? What happened?" Mark ran his hand down his back and Donghyuck felt even worse than before.

"I liked you at the same time that I dated Jeno," Donghyuck covered his burning face with his hands. "I'm not any better than Jeno yet you're treating me so nicely."

"Donghyuck," Mark grabbed his hands and tore them away from his face. "You may have liked me at the same time as dating Jeno but you never acted upon it since you knew it was wrong. Jeno, on the other hand, did. He acted upon his feelings for Jaemin when he shouldn't have, especially not whilst dating you. You did nothing wrong, don't worry about it."

Donghyuck looked up at Mark and smiled despite his inner conflict. Mark had just acknowledged his feelings but didn't accept nor reject him. Maybe Mark didn't care about them? It wouldn't make—

"And for the record," Mark chewed the inner part of his cheek and shyly looked away. "I also—" He cleared his throat and glanced around the car. Donghyuck felt a smile creep up his face.

"You also what?" Donghyuck teased and felt his heart get lighter.

"I also," Mark whined and threw his head back in frustration. "I also like you, okay?"

"Okay," Donghyuck beamed and laughed as Mark got flustered over the small confession. They didn't need to have a big event before they could confess their feelings. Not everything has to have a large preparation. Mark liked him and that's all that mattered. Jeno and Jaemin weren't worth dwelling over especially after what they had done. Maybe one day Donghyuck would find it in himself to forgive them, but he couldn't see that being a day close by.

"Do we have to put a label on this?" Mark asked, watching Donghyuck open the box of his dessert and pull out the fork and knife. 

"Do you want to?" Donghyuck paused and glanced over at Mark, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Honestly?" Donghyuck nodded. "I don't want to, not yet at least. I want you to get more comfortable around me and not rush straight into dating."

Donghyuck lowered his hands and smiled at that. Of course Mark was going to be super considerate. "I'd like that too, Mark."

"Great!" Mark clapped his hands and then shook Donghyuck's arm. "Alright now, eat your ice cream and waffles quickly! I don't want any of this to ruin my precious car."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! It's the end. There may be another chapter showing how Jaemin and Jeno got treated by the others, but don't worry they did get their karma. Haechan and Mark would sonnet or later call each other boyfriends but obviously he would need some time to completely get rid of Jeno from him mind

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated ♡
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/deelonghyuck)


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